Smoke and Illusions
by Pen Sil
Summary: He smokes and daydreams, and she watches the dreams become reality as the smoke forms illusions on the starry sky above.


**Smoke and Illusions**

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><p>It starts almost immediately after he has made his pact with Pedri.<p>

Ava is aware that Odin likes to smoke, and that he likes to daydream. Neither habits have changed just because Odin's eyes now glow purple instead of red. Instead they seem to have grown worse.

It's like he's in a _trance._

She catches him daily, sitting by himself, smoking that blasted pipe of his, not paying the tiniest bit of attention to his surroundings. She's honestly starting to wonder whether she should practice long distance fire techniques on him just to see if he'll notice if he catches on fire.

Because she could never set him on fire up close, even if she might want to. As soon as she gets too close to him he'll snap out of his daydream, the smoke will vanish, and he'll turn to her with some infuriating comment about whether or not she's trying to expand her CV so it contains both escape artist _and _sneak thief.

And that really is a pity.

Not because she hates talking to him - though arguing is more the word - because while they might sound like they disagree Odin is the first person who has ever accepted her exactly as she is and treats her just the same, and she finds arguing with him, discussing with him, talking to him in quiet tones in a moment of sentiment, _fun_. No, it's a pity because the smoke has started taking on a life of its own.

It comes from the fact that one of the more harmless powers Pedri has passed on to Odin is illusion work. And while she might call it harmless it has driven at least one attacker mad by now, not that it matters. In peaceful times, when they can take a break, it means plays of coloured smoke, showing everything he thinks about from small, floating teddybears to fireflies dancing amongst the stars. In his illusions she sees places she has never been, people she will never meet, terrors and fleeting happiness she will never experience.

Sometimes it frightens her…

"Back again?" Maggie whispers, crouching beside her in the grass as they watch a million purple dragonflies dance across the sky in twilight.

Ava shakes her head, trying to rid herself of her own thoughts. "Yeah," she says. "Sorry I got caught in it again. I'll go grab him for dinner now."

She leaves Maggie and her frown and her theories behind, marching over to where her friend is sitting, smoking. "Enough," she snaps and places herself so she's towering over him. At almost seventeen she has, thankfully, grown a few inches and he now reaches her chest - sitting down, that is. "Odin, dinner is almost ready. Get out of whatever trance Pedri has placed you in or I'm setting fire to your shirt."

The illusions evaporate into small specks of glowing purple dust around them, and Odin slowly puts down his pipe. "Di- did y-you say som-someth-thing, f-firefly?" he asks, slowly packing away his pipe.

She harumphs, annoyed that he's not looking at her as he speaks and places her foot on his shoulder. "I said -"

But before Ava can express exactly what she's going to say he makes a quick, snakelike move with his arm, pushing her foot out from under her so she lands on her back beside him in the grass with an 'ompf!'.

Anger flares in her system faster than she expects, and she opens her mouth, to say something, smoke billowing from each ear. She can feel her skin growing hot. _How dare he -_

However, Odin has developed the perfect defense against her anger over the years, and she's pretty sure it's something he's unaware he's doing.

Finally he turns his gaze to her, a wide smile spreading on his face, a smile she so rarely sees around others she's gotten it into her stupid head it's specially reserved only for her. "Y-you were saying?"

Ava closes her eyes for a moment, feeling the anger drain away, leaving a blush on her face. She gives a small growl, but mutters a "never mind."

The illusion of his smile lingers in her dark mind.

With an effort she sits up, glares at him briefly before rising. "If you're done playing with the Master of Pride dinner is ready," she informs him.

She doesn't look back as she crosses the lawn to a deviously grinning Maggie.

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><p>It's three in the gods damnd morning, I'm behind on my exam paper, and what do I do? Write an OdinAva thing. I think we can all agree that I am quite doomed. And it's my own fault.<p> 


End file.
